Gulls’ lax pummels No. 2 Cabrini

SALISBURY – The Sea Gulls had never lost to Cabrini coming into Friday’s game. In front of a season record 951 fans — this game would be no different.

Facing off against its first ranked opponent since losing to Christopher Newport on April 2, the Salisbury University lacrosse team dismantled No. 2 Cabrini College 15-11.

Luke Phipps and Rhett DePol lead Salisbury with seven goals, each recording a hat trick, scoring four and three goals, respectively. DePol scored two of his three goals in the first period while two of Phipps goals came in the final period to close out the game.

“This is a very good team and a team we have heard about all season,” Phipps said. “We wanted to make sure we came out strong, and we knew we were going to need a lot of goals to win.”

Cabrini had not trailed in a game all season and looked to continue that trend, scoring twice in the opening five minutes of the game.

The Gulls then came storming back, scoring the next four goals in a row. It started with a Sean Fitzgerald rip into the right upper 90. Thomas Cirillo then scored while switching to his left after a swim move over a Cavalier defender, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

The goals changed the momentum of the game in favor of Salisbury, and the Gulls would never look back making sure Cabrini would not see a lead for the rest of the game.

Only leading 6-5 at halftime, Salisbury came out fired up as Donovan Lange scored 17 seconds into the half on a Phipps assist. Two more goals in the next five minutes caused Cabrini head coach Steve Colfer to use a very early timeout.

This timeout gave the Sea Gulls excuse to show their excitement and much to the delight of the crowd greeted their teammates to roars of elation.

The return of Chris Biank was very apparent, as Salisbury was able to win the majority of his faceoffs, giving them an advantage after each goal they scored.

“It sure helps when you get Chris back,” Salisbury Head Coach Jim Berkman said. “Your wining more than 50 percent of your draws and you’re getting more possessions, and it sure helps to get a couple of easy ones.”

The Gulls will look to carry their momentum toward the playoffs starting April 23, as they have now beaten all seven ranked opponents faced this year.

“We play well in big games and we take pride in that,” DePol said. “We are the Sea Gulls.”